What Lies Between
by The Midnight Fox
Summary: A retelling of the movie with more interaction between Uncas and Alice. The story begins with the attack at the glade and will eventually conclude at the cliffs. Rated mature for sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

NOTE: I do not own any of the characters in this story, they are all the property of their respective owners. I receive no money for this story so please don't sue me. The Story will have the same basic plot as the movie, with all the settings and story progression the same. It will however have added scenes and focus specifically on the relationship between Uncas and Alice. There will be some Cora/ Hawkeye interaction but the focus of the story will not be on them. I should also mention that this story will end differently than the movie though I won't spoil it for you by telling how here. I hope this Fic will be enjoyed and reviews are welcome, just keep them polite because i will not answer nasty comments

The Last Of The Mohicans

"What Lies Between"

The first sound of gun fire spooked her horse, causing it to lay it's ears back and dart nervously from side to side. Alice Munro grabbed the reins, trying to still the snorting animal without loosing her footing and falling off. Her sister, Cora, was glancing this way and that, trying to find the location of the noise. Another round of gun fire sounded and both girls cried out in alarm.

"Alice," Cora cried as her sisters spooked horse tried to buck. Cora reached out for the reins on Alice's horse as Duncan started to call orders. In the din and confusion, Alice could see very little of what was happening. It was obvious they were under attack but she couldn't see anyone nearby who could be doing the attacking. The gun fire was ear shattering and the whooping of many voices terrifying when she couldn't find their source.

With very little warning, the horse reared up and threw Alice to the ground. She rolled to one side to avoid the stamping hooves and looked up. What met her eyes was utter chaos. In the glade ahead there was indeed an attack taking place, and the source of the whooping noise was apparant. The glade as filled with writhing bodies, a sea of red coats and dark skin and gun smoke. Alice saw men wearing little more than thin strips of cloth attacking the entourage with little axes. Before her eyes, A soldier was grabbed by the hair and lifted up, the small axe was brought down onto his head and his hair was ripped off. The red man with the axe held the hair above him, yelling a war cry and Alice screamed.

Her sister was next to her in moments, pressing Alice's face into her stomach. Cora was trying to protect her from the sights and smell of the battlefield but the image of the dark man holding the scalp above his head was engraved into her eyes and she knew it would haunt her the rest of her life. Duncan was still shouting orders to his soldiers.

" Form company, left face! March! "

Her sister pressed her in tighter, making it hard for Alice to breath. She twisted in Cora's arms until she was more upright and turned her head in Duncans direction. His horse was dead, shot before she had managed to turn around. Duncan had lost his sword and was left with only a small musket, which he was desperatly trying to fill with gun powder. Another war cry rent the air and Alice swung her eyes around to see an Indian running at them. Duncan saw it too and tried to work quickly but his hands fumbled, he wasn't going to make it.

A gun shot sounded from nearby and the red man fell to the forest floor. Both Alice and Cora looked to the left and saw a long-haired man with a long rifle. He was American in appearance but dressed in soft brown leather and moccasins. His hair was brown and quite long, curling slightly down his back and held away from his face with a thing piece of leather. Why he was protecting them, Alice didn't know and for the moment she didn't care. She felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the stranger, whoever he was.

The strangers attention moved away from them to some brush farther ahead. Alice glanced the in the same direction and saw another indian pointing a gun in them, specifically at Cora. Then the red mans eyes swung to the oddly dressed american and turning, he fired. The American effectively dodged but in that time the red man was gone, lost to the smoke and brush of the glade. Two other red men passed to their right, one of them older and chasing another indian. Duncan swung his musket in their direction, ready to fire when Cora cried out.

"Duncan, No!"

The musket was pulled from his fingers with a jerk as the american threw it to the ground.

"I guess your aim ain't any better than your judgement," He said dryly as he turned away.

Cora was helping Alice to her feet when the younger girl realized everything was suddenly quiet. The gun fire and whooping of voices was gone, in the far distance she thought she could hear birds. Two other men approached the american from opposite sides of the glade, both indians. Alice pulled her sister close in fear but oddly enough, the men paid them little attention. Some words were said in a language Alice couldn't begin to understand and a young Indian man stalked toward them. For a moment Alice thought he was coming at them, Cora must have thought the same for she backed up holding tightly to Alice. The man moved past them and went instead at the horses, yelling and sending them running into the forest.

"Stop it! we need them to get out!" Alice shouted, breaking away from Cora and attempting to run past him, going after the fleeing horses.

The Indian grabbed her gently to restrain her and she swung around ready to strike him for daring to touch her. That was before she looked up into his face. Warm brown eyes stared into her blue ones and she immediately forgot what she had been about to do. Brown eyes had never been striking to her; She always thought it a mundane color, completely unexciting. She realized that she had been wrong. In his eyes she saw nature, everything wild and free. She was lost in those eyes. It felt to Alice that time slowed as she and the Indian man stared at one another, the world vanished and left them behind.

His skin was a soft brown, smooth and unbroken. His hair, much like the americans was pulled back with soft leather. Unlike the american his was black and straight, falling to his waist. Alice found him beautiful and knew it must show in her face. From the expression of surprise on his face, he was was just as surprised by her as she was by him. Who knows how long they would have stayed as they were if Cora had not laid her hand upon her sister shoulder and broken the trance. She gently pulled her sister away from the indian, though their eyes stayed locked a moment longer. The sound of Duncan's voice suddenly caught the young man's attention and he pulled his eyes away from her eyes. Duncan was asking the american why the indian man had sent the horses away, the american was busy helping an older Indian grab weapons.

"Why not ask him yourself," He answered, not looking up.

The young Indian moved away from the women, back toward the others.

"Too easy to track," He answered simply. He had a deep voice that was as warm as his eyes. That voice made Alice shiver. Cora took the shiver for cold and wrapped am arm around her sisters shoulders.

"They could be heard for miles, find yourself a musket." The young man continued, talking to Duncan as he searched the ground. The american stood and surveyed the glade for a moment before turning back to Duncan.

"Your wounded should try heading back to Albany. They'll never make a passage north." He said matter-of-factly.

"We were headed to Fort William Henry." Duncan explained, his voice slightly dull. He sounded as if he had forgotten why they were out here in the first place.

The older Indian man spoke to the american in that strange language and they carried on a brief conversation. When it was over he turned back to Duncan with an odd half smile on his face.

"We'll take you as far as the fort," He said and threw a musket to him. "But if we're going to take you we need to move fast." This last was said with a brief glance at the women, as if he didn't expect them to be able to keep up. Cora stiffened indignantly next to her sister but Alice barely noted the insult. Her eyes were still focused on other man. When nobody moved the american crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Or we could just wait for the next Huron war party to come by."

That got everyone's feet moving. The two women stepped lightly over the bodies littering the glade but Cora did stop briefly to slip a musket into her skirts. Alice saw this but said nothing, she only hoped that Cora wouldn't have a chance to use it.


	2. From Glade to Cabin

Chapter 2

From Glade to Cabin

The small band of travelers started out in silence initially, with the two women and Duncan at the back. The three men that had saved them walked ahead, talking in their own language. Introductions were made only after Cora had demanded it, Duncan seeming to think it unimportant to know the names of "heathens" and Alice was too shy to ask. The american was called Nathaniel, the older male Chingachgook , and the young Indian man was Uncas. They gave no other information about themselves and seemed to want none about those they traveled with. As a result, the introductions were left with only names.

The first few hours were passed with very little conversation for which Alice was grateful. Back in the glade, before the attack she had been feeling herself growing ill. It was faint enough but she knew the oncoming of illness quite well and the thought of getting sick in the wilderness terrified her. During the ensuing attack she had forgotten the illness, having lost it's feeling during the shock and adrenaline rush of the battle. Now It was back and she felt her senses dulling ever so slightly, the sounds of the forest becoming muffled. She mentioned none of this to Cora or Duncan and had no plans to mention it later. Alice was smart enough to realize the situation would not allow for such weakness on her part. This was no game and there was no far away room in which to rest and recover. No, she would have to manage and hope that the illness turned out to be a cold and nothing more.

"How far Scout?" Duncan's voice interrupted Alice,s thoughts. She lifted her head to see that he was walking faster to catch up with Nathaniel. Nathaniel paid him little mind and did not bother too look at him as he walked. Uncas moved farther back behind them, glancing into the trees to see if they were being followed.

"A day and a bit," Nathaniel answered in an off hand manner, then some question stole over his face. "Where did you get your guide?"

Alice didn't hear what Duncan said back for her eyes wandered back to Uncas. They had been avoiding each others eyes since the glade, both seeming afraid to get lost in the others gaze. Alice found herself not minding the idea of getting lost in his eyes, for there was peace there. Her mind constantly replayed the ambush, as if it were imprinted forever behind her eyes. The smell of the gunpowder was stuck to her clothes, the smell of blood in her nostrils. Losing herself for a while was a welcome idea. Uncas, however, was not looking at her and she was eventually forced to stop looking at him. With a small sigh she pulled her eyes back to the front and was surprised to see that Duncan and Nathaniel were a hairs breath away from having a confrontation. Nathaniel was very close to Duncan's face and even from her vantage point she could hear the warning in the mans voice.

"First of all, I ain't your scout," he said dangerously "And I sure ain't in no damn militia."

Alice stopped cold, half expecting blows to be dealt. She cared a great deal for Duncan but he had never known when to keep his mouth shut. Even when they were young children he had a penchant for spouting off at the mouth. Age had only given him arrogance and she feared that one day it would get him hurt.

In the end, nothing happened. Nathaniel turned his back and continued walking. Duncan followed behind but anger showed in his posture and face. The sound of the rushing river next to them was soothing to Alice's nerves and she soon forgot the angry exchange. She let the sound of the rushing water rush over her and chase away dark images. Then a prickling on the back of her neck brought her back to reality. Alice felt as though she were being watched and turned to find the feeling was not her imagination.

Uncas was staring at her intently, an expression on his face that she couldn't read. She studied his face from that distance with her breath catching in her throat. No man anywhere had ever made her lose her ability to think, yet looking at him she almost forgot where she was. When he realized she was looking at him looking at her, his head dipped down and the moment was spoiled once again.

In midday they broke from the woods and came out onto what appeared to be farm land, or at least what was left of it. The buzzing of flies in the field filled Alice's head with noise and made her head reel. She steadied herself on a post and hoped no one noticed her moment of weakness. If they did, they equated it to the scene before them. A burned out farmhouse graced an otherwise beautiful stretch of land. The flat land of the yard was littered with dead animals and what might be human remains. The three men moved slowly out onto the yard, circling warily like nervous dogs. Duncan and Cora stayed close together, not touching but almost huddled like frightened children. Perhaps the reality of their situation was dawning, and they realized how dangerous everything was quickly becoming.

Alice was left on her own, clinging to the post, so no one noticed her move off to one side. She wandered slowly around to the back of the house, looking for survivors on her own. What she found were the charred remains of a child. Alice almost missed him, he was half buried under the fallen wood. What caught her attention was a small hand, the fingers slightly curled up, peeking from beneath the wood. For a long moment she stared at those fingers, fighting back the scream that lingered at the back of her throat. She covered her mouth with her hands and fell to her knees, rocking back and forth. She could not afford to lose her senses; not here and not now. Hot tears trailed down her face and over her hands as she made small screaming noises into her fingers. How strange, she had been taught all her life that ladies did not behave as she was now. They kept their head in any situation and if they could not, they fainted. This was really a ladies only option. They simply did not to scream and cry. Oddly, the screaming helped. She was just grateful that her hand muffled it so the others wouldn't hear.

"Miss Munro," A deep voice from behind her said. The voice was then followed by a hand being dropped on her shoulder. Startled, she whirled around to find Uncas standing above her. His sudden appearance shocked her out of her weakness and quelled the muffled screaming. He knelt next to her as she stared at him, one hand still pressed to her mouth and the other having fallen lazily into her lap.

"Are you alright?"

Alice curled the hand at her mouth into a loose fist and turned her eyes back down to the child. She took a deep breath before removing the fist and answering him.

"I am sorry to admit that I had a very naive idea about war before today," She replied, wiping at her face with her sleeve.

"I truly believed that war never fell upon women and children, now I know how much of a child I have been."

The man was quiet a moment while alice continued to stare at the little charred hand. Inwardly she almost hated her family for hiding these evils from her, for letting her find out like this that everyone was a victim. It felt like what little she knew was a lie.

"This is not your world," Uncas said behind her "You are entitled to a little weakness.

She felt him take her upper arm gently and cooperated as he pulled her to her feet. She stumbled in her skirts at the akward footing and fell forward into his chest. He tried to keep her from falling which resulted in a position that put their faces very close together. Alice's breath stopped when she realized she was pressed very hard against him. She could feel his chest under her splayed fingers and his long legs pressed against her skirts. His face reflected her surprise and neither seemed able to move and remedy the situation, perhaps they didn't want to.

a dark hand came up to touch a strand of blonde hair that had fallen onto her cheek. The fingers moved over it lightly and twisted it gently, memorizing the texture. Alice watched Uncas face as he played with her hair and saw the same expression he had worn in the glade. That startled, dreamy, look that made sense only to the two of them. The moment was intimate in it's simplicity and more stirring than any novel she could ever had written. She was disappointed when it ended. Uncas tucked the strand behind her ear and stepped back from her. He gave her a gentle push back in the direction she had come.

"Go back to your sister, miss," He told her gently "It's not safe here."

Alice went without question but did turn to look back before she rounded the corner. He had knelt again, near the child's body. His head was lowered and she saw a small quiver run through his shoulder blades. If he shed tears she didn't know but she did wonder if he knew these people. With a quiet sigh she turned away and went in search of her sister.

Note: Thank you for the reviews, I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. I actually ended chapter 2 earlier than i intended to because it was getting too long. Out of the scenes I have planned for this story, the one near the end of this chapter is one of my favorites so I hope you enjoy this installment as well.


	3. Through the Wilderness

Chapter 3

Through the Wilderness

Alice made her way around the cabin and back to her sister. Cora looked up with relief as Alice approached and took her arm when she drew near.

"You had me worried," Cora whispered, sounding chastising. "You should not wander off, not out here."

Alice looked at her sister and nodded mutely but felt nothing. Apathy was settling over her heart since the discovery of the dead child. Something of her innocence had broken behind that house and without it, she felt empty. For a moment, with Uncas, something else had replaced it. It was a feeling she couldn't explain but it had made her heart speed up and her palms sweat. Her face felt hot, possibly from the onset of fever or from something else.

Up ahead, their guides were holding a low voiced conference that Duncan was trying very hard to listen in on. Even going so far as to ask what they were saying. Alice felt his behavior improper and ungentleman-like. She decided to tell him so later, if she had the opportunity. Duncan did have the decency to look embarrassed as the three men finished their council and approached. He shook himself, trying to look as though he had no interest in their conversation. He turned his attention to the dead instead.

"Let us look after them," He said gently. As he approached, Nathaniel shook his head.

"No. Leave them." He ordered, his voice thick with what Alice thought might be grief. Cora, however, took it for apathy and was enraged by it. She pulled away from her sister and marched purposefully toward the american.

"They may be strangers but they are at least entitled to a christian burial."

Nathaniel was moving past her as she said it and stopped, not turning to look at her. He shook his head for a moment and started to walk again.

"Let us go miss."

He sounded tired, and that thickness still hung in his voice, whatever pain he was feeling was waiting just below the surface. Anger crossed over Cora's pretty face and she glared at his retreating back as she fired off her next words.

"I will not," She cried at him. "I have seen the face of war before sir, but never war made upon women and children."

Cora bunched her hands into her skirt and took a step forward, determined that he would hear her.

"It's almost as cruel as your indifference."

Nathaniel stopped and turned around, the pain in his features colliding with anger. He strode purposefully back toward Cora and the girl's face paled. She took a step back but kept her determined expression. Nathaniel stopped when he was standing in front of her.

"Miss Munro," He began softly, staring into her eyes "They are not strangers,"

Alice watched them size each other up, for a moment she was afraid to breathe. The tension in the glade was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"And they stay where they lay."

With that he turned his back on her and walked away.

They stopped for the evening in a clearing with odd wooden structures. The structures were decorated with feathers and spears and other oddly assorted items. Upon arrival, Alice had moved forward to touch one of the structures but Uncas had grabbed her hand and pulled it away. He shook his head, silently telling her to leave it well enough alone. She didn't argue with him and made it a point to make her sleeping arrangements near him. Soon enough she was laying on soft moss and sleep came to claim her exhausted body.

Alice was awoken later by the sounds of snapping twigs. Her eyes came open and she darted her head up to see what was happening. Ahead in the woods, she could see shadows darting around in the trees. She narrowed her eyes in confusion and scooted forward on her stomach to get a better look. She stopped at an over turned log and felt her blood turn to ice. Ahead, In the trees, were a large number of Indians and french men with muskets. She felt a scream rising in her throat which very quickly turned itself into a cough. She tried to suppress it but the pain of it burned her throat. When she was about to lose the battle, a calloused hand covered her mouth while the other drew her against a familiar body. Her hands came up to grasp the arms tightly as the small army approached their hiding spot.

"Keep still miss," Uncas whispered in her ear as she continued to fight the cough in her throat.

"Try to hold it in"

Just as it seemed they were about to be discovered the men stopped. She heard them converse in french, catching a few words here an there. The french men wanted to push forward, the Indians said no. After a brief debate and much to Alice's relief, they pulled back. One by one they disappeared into the darkness until the forest had swallowed them and the clearing was empty.

Uncas held Alice against him until every last one of them was gone, until she sagged weakly in his arms and her hands lost their death grip on his wrists. They fell slowly from his arms and hung weakly next to her. In a rush, Alice realized two things. The first was that she had cheated death twice in one day and the second was that she was now quite ill. Uncas must have realized it as well because his hand moved slowly from her mouth and he used it to guide the rest of her back to the ground. When her mouth was free she began to cough raggedly and hard. It went on for a quite a while and when it was over, her chest hurt. The same calloused hand came to rest on her forehead and stroked it's way down to her cheek.

"You have a fever miss," He told her quietly, as she tried to catch her breath.

"Will you be able to go on tomorrow?"

Alice looked into his handsome, concerned face and felt herself smile inside. Then the smile broke over her face and she brought her had to cup his cheek.

"You may call me Alice," She whispered, "I believe we have moved past polite formality this day."

Her boldness surprised him and her alike but she had already accepted that there was an attraction between them. Unfortunately, she didn't know what to do with it past what she was doing now. She supposed that giving him permission to use her name was a start. He looked startled with her hand on his cheek and more than a little nervous. He brought his hand up to cover hers and was about to say something when another round of coughing took her. She rolled one her side and covered her mouth with her free hand, muffling the sound from her sister and Duncan. Uncas rubbed her back gently until it was over and she looked up at him with tired eyes.

"I will have to try to manage tomorrow," She told him, her voice a bit raw with the effect of coughing.

"No one can afford for me to be weak now."

There was something in his eyes that she thought might be admiration though his face showed nothing. Alice felt herself growing tired again as she lay there with him, her eyes wanted so badly to close.

"Please stay close by," She whispered as sleep came for her again. "I feel safer with you nearby."

Her only answer was a tight squeeze on the hand he still held.


	4. Fort William Henry

Chapter 4

Fort William Henry

When morning came, there was no doubt that Alice was ill. Her fever from the following evening was still present and steadily rising. They began traveling at first light and Alice managed to hide the cough from her sister until lunch, passing it off as something on the air or any other excuse she could think of. When one bout had her doubled over and struggling for breath, the pretense as up. Cora demanded that they stop and rest until Alice recovered but the younger girl refused. She would not be an invalid in the wilderness, not while she still had the strength to push on. She had no intention of being the factor that got them all killed.

As a result, the company pushed forward as planned, but they spared many a glance behind them to see ho she was faring. Every cough elicited a look of concern on five different faces. Uncas was by her side on and off though he fussed over her less than the others. For that she was grateful for she so wanted to appear capable.

As day wore on it became harder and harder for her to push herself. She was shaking very badly and tried to hide the fact that she was stumbling by staying close to the trees. She did her best to make it seem as though she were only running her hands along the rough bark and not, in fact, keeping her balance. Uncas was suddenly at her side, taking her elbow gently and steering her in a straight direction when her stumbling feet would have carried her into a thorn bush.

When night fell, Alice's eyesight was starting to go. She could see outlines of her companions but they all seemed to be covered in a blurry, shining gauze. She was wise enough to know that it wasn't due to the failing light. Thankfully for her, they were close to the fort and a warm bed. Soon she would see her father and this horrible ordeal would be behind her. However, she had to wonder what would happen with Uncas and herself once they reached the fort. There would be no need for the three men to stay with them then. The thought of not seeing him again made her throat tight and she suddenly wasn't as eager for the fort.

Alice heard the sound of rushing water very close by but was having a hard time locating it. Uncas once again took her arm and steered her toward something bulky. He put her hands against a rough wooden surface and she realized it was a boat. She almost sobbed with relief as he helped her inside.

Soon there was a jolt and the boat was moving forward. No one spoke as they moved across the water and Alice gripped the sides tightly to keep from pitching forward. A warm hand covered her cold one from outside the boat and she realized the men were in the water guiding it toward the other side of the river. She squeezed the fingers in response and held it until she felt the boat hit soft sand. Everyone made their way out of the boat and up the path forgetting Alice as she tried to get her legs out of the canoe. Alice tumbled ungracefully over the side of the boat and was righting herself when her eyesight went completely black. She stood stock still by the boat and tried not to panic, blinking to bring light back to her eyes.

"Miss Alice?" she heard Uncas saying her name somewhere behind her but he sounded as if he were at the end of a tunnel. She turned toward the voice, tried to say something and collapsed in the sand.

Uncas saw the youngest Munro girl still standing near the canoe and narrowed his eyes in concern. She was quite ill and had been since the night before. When he had mentioned it to his father and brother they were concerned that she could not continue traveling.

"Do we need to stop," His father asked after he told them about her fever. Uncas had looked over at the sleeping girl and tried to decide how to answer. Finally he turned back to his father and brother, hoping his feeling didn't show on his face.

"She does not wish to"

It was the only answer he could give them and to give the girl her due, she Had kept going. The sick girl had traveled all day without complaint. He had seen her faltering though, more and more as the day wore on. He was worried that she was on the verge of collapse.

"Miss Alice," He called, still not completely comfortable dropping the formality. She turned toward him slowly, her eyes unfocused and glazed. He took a step toward her and realized she was about to pass out. She was deathly pale and he broke into a sprint when he saw her sway. She opened her mouth to talk and lost the battle with her illness, her eyes closed and her knees buckled. He reached her as she hit the sand, and lay there unmoving. Uncas rolled her over, slapping her cheeks gently to try and wake her.

"Alice," He said softly, patting at her cheeks which were very hot to the touch. She mumbled something that might have been his name as her gathered her into his arms. He had to fight with the many skirts for a moment to get a decent hold on her legs but once he did, he got to his feet and went to follow the others up the hill. Uncas adjusted her weight as he moved with her over the uneven terrain. She was not a heavy woman but bearing anyones weight single-handedly up a hill was hard work. Her body felt hot against his chest and she whimpered quietly were her head rested against his neck.

"Shhhh," He hushed her as he walked, pulling her closer against his chest for warmth. One pale hand came up to twist itself into his shirt, but otherwise she showed no signs of waking.

When he reached the others, it took the older girl only moments to turn around and see Alice lying prone in Uncas arms. Uncas clenched up as panic crept over Cora's face and he knew that she might be about to rush him.

"Alice," She cried and started to run back toward her sister. Nathaniel grabbed her arm and gently wheeled her back in the direction of the fort. She looked at him with both shock and anger on her face.

"Tend to your sister at the fort, there ain't nothing you can do for her here that can't be done there." Nathaniel told her gently but firmly. For a moment she looked like she was about to argue then she pursed her lips and continued forward, her jaw set in an angry scowl. Duncan moved back toward Uncas and held his arms out for Alice.

"I will take her now," He said kindly as they walked. Uncas looked at him but suddenly found that he didn't want to let the girl go. It had nothing to do with playing the hero, he just felt more secure being the one to carry her.

"I have her, just keep walking." He said as he walked purposely around Duncan and pushed on ahead. The fort was right in front of them and the sound of cannon fire was almost deafening this close by. The girl in his arms cringed at the noise and bunched her hands into his shirt involuntarily. He murmured comfortingly to her in Mohican as they made their way to the barracks. Nathaniel yelled out who they were and in a few moments they found themselves safely within Fort William Henry.

When the travelers were brought before the two girls father, Uncas was still carrying the sick girl. Her father didn't even notice his youngest as Cora ran to him, hugging him and trying to explain in one breath everything that had happened. Surprisingly, the man seemed angry that the girls were there and kept going on about their reinforcements. They were all taken to what looked like a meeting room before the man noticed his youngest being carried in behind him.

"What's happened to her then," He demanded, not sounding as if he much cared.

Uncas glared at him and carried Alice over to an empty table in one corner as the others tried to explain everything that had happened in the last day and a half.

Uncas arranged her as comfortably on the table as he could and pulled the water flask from his hip. He dug into the small bag he carried for a rag and then wet it with water. With that done, he began sponging down the girls hot face and neck.

"I told you to stay away," Munro was saying sternly to the older girl. 'Why did you disobey me?"

Uncas wasn't looking at her but he could hear the evident confusion in the other girl's voice.

"When...how?"

Alice made a soft moaning noise and Uncas laid a hand on her forehead, the fever was going up.

"In my letter," Munro was saying as Uncas gathered Alice back into his arms and turned back toward the others.

"There was none," Cora replied.

"Discuss it later," Uncas said loudly. The room turned to look at him.

"Your daughter is sick, she needs a doctor."

Munro sized Uncas up for a moment, looking somewhere between astonished and annoyed. After a moment he motioned to two men standing across the room.

"This young man is right, take her to the infirmary."

Two men, not much older than Uncas moved forward to take Alice from his arms. He gave her up reluctantly but as they went to take her away, the men found she wouldn't move. Alice had curled into a ball against him and balled her hands into fists around his shirt. Try as they might they couldn't get her to let go of him. After a brief struggle, Uncas shrugged them off.

"Leave her, I have very few good shirts. Show me where the infirmary is, I will take her there myself."

Uncas followed the men out of the room and down a long hallway where loud groans and screams could be heard. Women in white dresses flew here and there, trying to care for too many people at once. The soldier found an empty bed in a secluded room and then went in search of a doctor. While they were gone, Uncas worked on un-knotting her hands from his shirt. Soon her hands relaxed and he could arrange her more comfortably on the bed. He stayed with her until the doctor arrived then made his way out of the room. He stopped at the door to look back at her and realized he didn't want to leave. He allowed himself to stare at Alice's face a moment longer then sighed and walked away. He feared he was falling in love with someone he couldn't have.


	5. A Fiddle in the Night

Note: This chapter is one that I have looked forward to writing since I came up with the concept for this story. I adore love scenes in movies and this turned out to be one of my favorite scenes so far. I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and I'm sorry that it took so long to get it up. I've been sick recently and haven't felt like writing. Thank you for all the nice reviews as well. I was afraid that no one would like this story and have been pleasantly surprised so far. So...read and enjoy .

Chapter 5

A Fiddle In The Night

From the moment she collapsed by the river, Alice had a series of sensory images and feelings that mad very little sense to her. She remembered Uncas calling her name from some distance and trying to answer him, but it was as if her tongue were made of stone. She could not get the sound to form in her mouth and she didn't have the energy to push it past her tongue. Next, She remembered being carried over uneven terrain and being held close to a warm chest. She had forced her heavy eyelids open enough to catch the image of brown arms wrapped around her, then there was nothing. Her next memory was of a deafening sound. It frightened her and she clutched at something soft that rested near her hands. A deep voice, speaking a foreign language was in her ears and she strained to keep hearing that voice. There was peace in that voice, and warmth. She could find safety within that voice.

Perhaps her most vivid memory was the one of many voices talking at once, and the feeling of something cool on her face. She was laying on a hard surface and the voices made her head ache. Soon the hard surface was gone, and the arms were back around her. She clutched her hands into a soft shirt and held on for dear life. She felt unfamiliar hands grabbing at her and held tighter to the shirt. She knew only that there was safety with the brown arms and deep voice, she wasn't ready to lose it yet. Then she had fainted, totally and complete.

Alice remembered very little after that, sounds and dreams mostly. She was told later that she slept for nearly two days. There wasn't much to tell about the illness except that it wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed. A cold made worse by exhaustion and exposure to the elements. The doctor was still unsure as to why she had run such a high fever.

When she was lucid enough, Alice's father had her moved to a private quarter to be with her sister. Cora seemed altered to Alice now, she was more distracted and took less notice of her sisters person than normal. Before their trip through the Wilderness, Cora had watched over her sister like a guard dog. Always looking for trouble, ever vigilant of anything that might hurt her sister. Now she was in her own thoughts, seeing things that Alice couldn't.

Alice, for her part, thought only of Uncas. Since she had woken from her two day sleep, she had not seen him at all. On the morning that her fever had broken, she had woken to find a long, black crow feather on the table by her bed. She had turned it over in her hands and run her fingers over the glossy feather. The color reminded her of his hair and she suddenly wanted him there. She knew he had been the one who carried her to the fort, he was the comforting voice she heard in her ear. When she closed her eyes, she could see his brown eyes staring into hers and she longed to have that again.

On the fourth night in Fort William Henry, Alice was resting on her side while Cora gathered up linens that needed to be washed. Alice was thinking of Uncas when a knock sounded on the door. Her eyes went to the door expectantly, hoping that it was him. Cora opened the door to reveal Duncan instead, Alice's heart sank and she shut her eyes so no one would see the tears pooling there.

"Cora...I wanted to speak to you," He said loudly as Cora went to hush him.

"Shhhh," She said, "Alice-"

Alice pulled herself up slowly from the bed, she was still weak from the illness. Cora looked at her with concern as she got unsteadily to her feet. Alice kept her head lowered as she padded to the door.

"Talk to Duncan, Cora," She said as she passed, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

"I must manage. I cannot be an invalid school girl."

The last was said with a quiet dry sob that she hoped the other two missed.

"I will go see if Doctor Phelps needs anything."

Alice shut the door quietly behind her and leaned against it, tears trailing down her face. She wiped them off with her sleeve and chastised herself. She barely knew Uncas and she was crying over him as if he had broken her heart. She pushed away from the door and began to walk, not heading for surgery as she had said she would. Truth be told she didn't know where she was going and she didn't care. Her heart felt raw and empty and she didn't know where to find the one that could fill it.

Alice didn't know how long she walked or how far, but the weakness from her illness was taking it's toll. She was lightheaded, and the buildings around her seemed to weave back and forth. She grabbed the side of one building as her head swam, leaning her head against the wood for support. After the dizziness passed, she started walking again. It wasn't long before the whole thing started up again and when it happened she realized she was in a very bad area. Around her, cannons were being fired and rifles shot over the tops of the barracks. In her hazy vision, she could see men falling here and there. She could smell the metallic mixture of blood and gun powder. Alice clapped her hands over her ears and screamed as the cannons roared around her. The sounds were to much on her senses and she couldn't see which way would take her out of it.

Alice ran, almost blindly in one direction. Her hands were still clapped onto her ears as she swayed from here to there. Without seeing, she ran right into a solid chest. Feeling panicked, Alice screamed again and hit at whatever was in front of her. She called out Uncas name because he was the only thing that seemed safe in this nightmare she was living in. Strong hands grabbed her and pulled her in against a warm chest, then they were on her face, making her look up.

"Alice," A familiar voice was saying as the long finger clutched at her face. "I am right here."

Alice stopped screaming and pounding her fists against his chest. She stared up into Uncas face and felt relief washing over her. Tears ran like two hot rivers down her face, flooding over his hands.

"Is it you," She whispered raggedly, afraid that it was all a dream and she would wake up in a world where he was gone. He was about to answer when another round of cannon fire sounded nearby. It sent her reeling into his arms, her body shaking from weakness and fear. She buried her head into his chest, holding him as tightly as she could.

His arms went around her, awkwardly at first. Then he seemed to hold her as tightly as she was him. When things were quieter, he spoke.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked her, as his hand gently stroked her hair.

"I don't know how I got here," She answered, her voice muffled against his chest. She turned her face up to his, their faces were only inches apart.

"I wanted to see you," She said softly.

Then her vision swam, she started to slide downward in his arms. When he realized what was happening, he grabbed her wrists and pulled her back up. Without a word, he scooped her into his arms and began to walk out of the battle area. They hadn't gone far when fiddle music reached Alice's ears. It was soft and sweet in the night air after the deafening roar of the cannons. The sound brought her around enough to realize she was being carried back toward her fathers private quarters. She turned her head to look into Uncas face but his attention was focused ahead. Alice realized she had spent a great deal of time in his arms of late, and wanted to find herself there more. Without thinking about it, her hand crept up to touch the side of his face. The touch startled him and she turned his face to look at her. Alice's head had been resting against his neck when he had picked her up, so when he turned their faces were nearly touching. Alice traced her fingers along his cheekbone and jaw for a moment then grasped the back of his head with both her hands. She closed the distance between their mouths before he knew what was happening.

Alice had never kissed a man before but had seen the servants doing it many times. Uncas lips were stiff against her mouth for only a moment before his arms moved out from under her legs as if he were going to drop her. Instead, his arms pulled her in closer as he kissed her back fiercely. Alice felt his tongue dancing tentatively against her lips, she opened her mouth and let it in. She moaned into his mouth and gasped when it moved from her lips to her neck. He left a trail of soft kisses over her chin and down her neck but came back to claim her mouth again as her hands ran up and down his chest.

It was the kind of kiss that promised other things though neither made any motion to put their hands on more intimate places. Instead, they memorized each others faces with their lips and hands. They delighted in the feel of one another and lost track of time as they danced the line between passion and intimacy.

"I love you," Alice breathed against his mouth when they came up for air. As soon as she said it, she knew it was true. God help her, but she loved him. Whatever their relationship was before this moment, she didn't care. She was in his arms and she never wanted to leave them again. She saw the love and desire in his eyes after she had declared hers, though he didn't say it back. He only kissed her more hungrily as a fiddle played on in the night.


	6. Collide

Note: Thank you for the nice reviews of chapter 5, I'm so glad everyone liked it. Now this chapter I came up with After hearing the song "Collide" by Howie Day. I hear it at least once a day at work and this chapter came about because of it. I should probably state that there is sexual content at the end of this chapter that I had meant to save until chapter 8 but after hearing this song, it got moved up a little. I wanted to do a fort scene where Alice and Uncas have one more encounter but I also wanted that encounter to be delayed by other events first. So this chapter is the result of all that. If you have "Collide", listen to it after you read this chapter and see what images it brings to mind for these two characters.

Enjoy everyone! .

Chapter 6

Collide

Alice's excursion into the night earned her another few days of bed rest. Her cough returned during the night and when the doctor was called, he chastised her for pushing herself so soon. Alice, however, wouldn't have given that night up for the world. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the weight of his kiss, the feel of his hands running up and down her back. It was the most intimate moment of her life and no doctor, anywhere, would make her regret it.

The resurfacing of the illness did keep her from seeing Uncas, and by the second day of being confined to one room, she was restless. She had patched more of her fathers shirts and darned more of his socks than she could count. She had worked on her embroidery until her eyes hurt, and she had even finished the scarf she was knitting for her sisters birthday. Alice had done every domestic activity the small room could offer.

She sunk into a nearby chair with a sigh and took up her needlepoint, perhaps she could make something for Uncas? Then she laughed at the thought, what need would he have of a needlepoint design?

The door to the room opened and brought her amused thoughts to a halt. She looked up to see Cora come stomping into the room. The older girl slammed the door behind her then leaned against it with her hand over her face. She let out a strangled sob and half bent over with the force of her crying. Alice jumped to her feet, throwing her needlepoint to the floor as she went to her sister.

"Cora," She said softly and reached out for the hand covering her sisters face.

"Cora, what has happened?"

Cora turned her tear stained face toward her sister and mopped at her face with her other hand.

"Nathaniel," she answered raggedly. "He's been arrested."

Alice took a step back in surprise, shaking her head.

"No," She said, shaking her head. "It must be a mistake, it can't be our Nathaniel."

"There is no mistake!"

Cora snapped the last at her sister and pounded the door with an angry fist. Alice jumped, she had never seen her sister so upset before. Cora continued to talk, taking no notice of her sister startled expression.

"He encouraged the colonials to desert, to go back to their families."

Cora gave a bitter laugh as she turned back to face Alice. She was beautiful and she was fierce, but underneath it all was vulnerability. Under all the anger, her sister's heart was breaking.

"As if defending ones family is a crime."

Alice stepped forward and put an arm around her sister, she led her to the chair she herself had just deserted. Once Cora was comfortable, Alice sat on her knees before her, with one hand on her sisters knee. Cora clutched at that hand, the tears pouring down her face again.

"They are going to hang him." she whispered, burying her face into her hands and sobbing.

Alice's hand fell away from her sisters knee and hung limply at her side. Nathaniel, Uncas brother, was going to be hanged. He was going to be hanged for sending the men back to their families? Why would their father allow that?

"He won't be hanged, Cora," Alice told her sister with confidence. "Papa would never allow it."

Cora looked at her with exasperation.

"Alice, Papa is the one that ordered it. I tried to talk him out of it but he won't hear me."

Alice jumped to her feet and made for the door.

"I will speak with Duncan then, surely he can make Papa see reason."

"Duncan agrees with father, Alice. There nothing to be done."

Alice stopped at the door with her hand still on the handle, feeling as if her whole world were crumbling. That night with Uncas, everything had seemed so perfect. Now it was all turning to dust at her feet.

"I am not allowed to see him again, or the others." Cora said in a dull voice. "And neither are you."

Over the next few days, Alice moved about mechanically. She did her work, ate, and slept but her heart felt exposed for the world to see. In the beginning she had fought her father over his decision to keep them away from the men who saved them. For the first time in her life she had yelled at him, threatened to disobey him. It earned her nothing but a sharp, backhanded slap to the face. Then he told her that Uncas and his father were gone, that they had left the fort and Nathaniel to his fate. Then he sent her back to his private quarters and it was the end of the discussion.

Alice was a ghost of her former self after that. wandering the barracks, still not believing that he was gone. When her inquiries into his whereabouts received no further information she began to fade a little more each day. Cora noticed her sisters pale face and apathetic demeanor and thinking she was sick again sent for the doctor. The examination showed nothing, she was healthy. A little thinner than the doctor would have liked but she was healthy. He told Cora that it might be a matter of the heart and not the body that troubled her.

Alice noticed her sister sneaking out in the night and she knew where she was going. Cora was defying their father and going to Nathaniel's cell, night after night. Cora was in love with the american, just as Alice was in love with his brother. It showed in her movement, her face, her voice when she spoke his name. Cora had her love in whatever capacity she could get him. Alice was alone now, stuck in a world where Uncas was gone.

Soon, news came that her fathers army had surrendered to the french. The next morning they would be marching their people to Fort Edward. Alice heard the news but cared little about it. What was there to care about now?

The night before they left there was a horrible storm. Thunder snaked across the sky and rain came to pour onto the barracks. Alice was laying on her side when she felt Cora shift near her and get up, going once again to Nathaniel. She moved quietly about the room and snuck out the door, closing it silently behind her. Alice lay there in the dark room, watching light dance across the walls and found herself getting up as well. There was no reason for it but she found that she couldn't bear to stay in that room any longer. She made her way to the door in her night dress and padded out of the room on bare feet. She moved as if in a dream, out into the storm. In the back of her mind was a voice telling her that she was being foolish, She would not find Uncas in the fort. She ignored the voice, she had to look one last time.

Alice wandered the barracks in the rain, moving listlessly. She was soon soaked through, and quite chilled. She found, to her vague surprise, that she didn't care. Alice walked the areas she thought he would walk, never thinking that she wouldn't find him in this weather of all times. Thunder sounded above, louder than the cannons had been but she didn't hear it. She heard nothing, saw nothing, except and image of his face in her mind.

Ahead of her, she saw the flickering of small camp fires under make shift lean-twos. The rain buffeted her as she walked slowly toward those fires, looking like a ghost in her white night shirt. She pulled her arms around her for warmth and continued through. Men looked out at her walking in the rain, a few called out. She ignored them, they were not who she was looking for. Near another lean-two she thought someone said her name, but she didn't stop to see who. There was a muffled commotion behind her when she didn't answer, voices talking at once.

"What's Miss Alice doing in this storm," She thought she heard, then there was nothing. Her feet were getting numb from the cold rain. If she collapsed out her, what would happen then? Would she die in this weather? Did she even care?

"Alice," A familiar voice some feet behind her brought her head up. She turned very slowly to look behind her, pushing her wet hair from her face. Through the rain she could see him. Or what she thought might be him. It couldn't be though, her father told her he was gone. She squinted through the rain. The man looked like Uncas, even with his black hair plastered to his face by the rain.

"Uncas," She said stupidly, her voice a whisper. He came toward her slowly through the rain and she sunk to her knees in the dirt. She started to cry, bowing her head forward while her hands clung to her upper arms. Uncas knelt in front of her and lifted her face up, he brushed the wet hair out of her face while she cried.

"He told me you were gone, that you had left the fort." She whispered, covering his hands with hers where they rested on her face.

"I searched for you everywhere," She couldn't finish, she threw her arms around him and sobbed.

"We were told to stay away from you," He told her, holding her head against his neck.

"I tried to see you but there was always someone there. I never expected to find you in this weather."

He looked around them after he said it, seeming to search for some drier place to talk. After a moment, he pulled her to her feet and with one arm around her waist, led her to the ammunition barrack. Uncas pulled her in out of the rain and shut the door. Alice was shivering in her drenched night clothes and her teeth were chattering. Uncas pulled a blanket off the crates in one corner and threw it around her. Then they lay against a wall together and tried to dry off. Alice removed the wet night shirt and left it to dry on some nearby crates. The dusty blanket was enough to cover her nudity.

"I was foolish to go out in this," she said, tracing patterns in the dusty floor with her finger. Uncas said nothing but she could feel his eyes on her. She realized her father had lied to her to keep her from going to see him. Did her father realize she was in love with Uncas? Did her feelings show so clearly on her face?

"Nothing seemed to matter without you," she told him boldly.

She turned her eyes up to his and he wore and unreadable expression.

"I told you I loved you that night, it wasn't a lie."

She might have gone on except that he grabbed her and pulled her over to him. The movement was so quick that the blanket fell away, revealing her nakedness in the moonlight. His mouth found hers and soon he was kissing her deeply. Alice was strewn across his lap as he pulled her in against him. The heat from his body was warming her cold skin as his tongue danced over hers. Soon they were lost in the kiss, their hands wandering to all the places they hadn't touched the first night. She moaned when his hand covered her naked breast and pulled his head down for another deep kiss.

Alice trailed her hand down to his thigh and felt him through the loincloth. He grunted when her hand touched him and she reached underneath to trail her fingers up and down him. He gasped at her touch and stopped what he was doing, looking into her eyes for confirmation that this was what she wanted. Alice nodded, cupping him in her hand gently. Soon, his clothes were gone and his body met hers on the dusty floor. They kept their eyes locked when he slipped inside her, their eyes locked as they found that instinctual rhythm all people seemed to know. There was pain but Alice welcomed it and clung to him as they rode that pleasure together. When he came he cried out and carried her over the edge with him. Then it was quiet, except for the rain pounding overhead.

"I love you," he whispered from where his head rested on her chest. She hugged him to her and brushed the sweaty hair out of his face.

"I know," She whispered back.

"What happens now? We leave the fort tomorrow. what will become of us?"

Uncas lifted himself up to look down at her face, trailing one finger over her cheekbone and nose.

"When this whole thing is over, come with us to Can-tuck-kee. Come with me?"

Alice smiled at him in the half light.

"Why Sir, i think you just asked me to marry you?"

He smiled back at her joke and rested his chin on her chest, staring into her eyes from that vantage point.

"Was that a yes?"

Alice ran her fingers through his hair and nodded.

"That's a yes."


	7. Massacre

Note: I hope everyone enjoyed the previous chapter, I only heard back from one person. Okay, we're onto the big massacre scene. I had to do a lot of thinking about how to handle this. I watched the scene in the movie a dozen different times to see how it was handled. Really, all I wanted was to make Alice fight back a little on her own. I thought, if it were me what would i do? so this chapter reflects all of that. Again, I hope everyone enjoys that chapter. Tomorrow, the waterfall chapter should be up. I'm going to be nearing the end of this story soon and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the nice reviews. You've all been so kind and encouraging to me while I wrote this. So, that said, here's chapter 7!

Chapter 7

Massacre

The morning of their departure from Fort William Henry came very quickly, more quickly than Alice would have liked. She wanted that night with Uncas to last forever, for that storm to never end. Alice and Uncas had more moments of passion in that stockade, with the rain pounding overhead. He took her two more times, breathing her name into the darkness. No matter what happened in the days to come, Alice would never regret going after him in the rain.

When it had finally lessened, when their passion was spent, he had taken her back to her fathers quarters. The had held each other tightly outside the room, whispering promises in the dark. Alice went to sleep that night with the memory of his lips on her skin, of his hands running up and down her back as she moved above him.

When morning came, she barely had time to think about anything so intimate. She was roused from pleasant dreams before first light to help her sister pack up the room. Sunrise saw them out near the large fort doors, with everyone lining up and ready to leave. Alice and Cora were riding on one of her fathers favorite horses. Cora, being the older sister took the reins and Alice clung to her sisters waist like a child. As their decimated army filed out of the fort and down the hill, Alice glanced behind her for Uncas and his family. She saw a flash of dark hair that might have been his but he was soon lost in the sea of faces. Alice glanced around her as the horses ambled down the hill. She stared into the faces of the french mans army. Some looked at her with a lack of expression, others with a quiet smile. A few viewed her with open disdain. Alice turned her attention ahead, looking at her fathers back as he rode ahead of them. She didn't know what lay ahead, but she certainly didn't want to see the angry faces that lay behind. When the last of her fathers people had left the fort, the Frenchman's army surged in. The red men of his army whooped and hollered on their way in, it was a gloating sound and Alice was happy when it faded behind her.

She didn't know how long they traveled through those woods. It became very hot at midday, with the sun beating down on their backs. The heat made her drowsy. she leaned against her sisters back and shut her eyes. The soft rocking of the horse was comforting, the chattering of many voices played like a lullaby in her ears. With a small contented sigh, she fell asleep.

A scream from the back of the line brought her around. Alice's eyes popped open and she looked wildly around her. Her sleep fogged mind, trying to find the source of the noise. The horse below her quivered nervously, pawing the ground and snorting. Cora patted his neck soothingly, as her eyes flew around. They were on a trail that led through a small clearing in the woods. Alice turned toward those trees as the soldiers raised their guns. The company continued forward but at a slower pace, as her father walked the edges looking for danger. It was too quiet in the woods, even the birds had stopped singing. Tensions ran high all around, as the silence became more and more oppressive. Then a cry rent the air, cutting through the perfect silence. It was followed by another cry, and then another as a thousand voices rang out through the forest.

"What's happening," Alice whispered to her sister, her blue eyes searching in vain for even one of the many whooping cries.

"Cora, what's happening?"

Her sister never had a chance to answer her. At the end of the line of trees, down where the tail end of their entourage was crying out in horror, gunfire began to erupt. It moved in a straight line up the trail, coming ever closer to the front of the line. Alice saw bursts of flame erupt from muskets as Cora maneuvered their horse off the trail. She jumped off and grabbed her sisters hand. With a tug, Cora pulled Alice off the horse and into some bushes as one of her fathers soldiers raced over to protect them. Cora dove into the tall grass and pushed her sister down next to her. The soldier remained standing in front of them, firing off his gun wildly. The sound of gun fire was deafening, and smoke soon came to fill their nostrils and burn their eyes.

"My god, What's happening," Alice screamed over the noise.

There was a rustle of activity ahead of them, the sounds of hundreds of feet hurrying forward. Alice raised her head to see a sea of red bodies come swarming out of the woods. Some carried tomahawks, other rifles. All wore dark paint on their chests or faces or both. Alice watched the scene, transfixed. The red men descended on her father's army from all sides, cutting and killing their way through a mass of red coats.

Cora jumped to her feet, grabbing her sister's wrist and pulling her backwards at a run. Alice followed blindly, the soldier directly behind her. A gunshot sounded behind them, Alice heard rather than saw the soldier fall. She felt something hot rush past her arm and saw it graze the top of her sisters arm. Cora screamed as blood came to stain the upper part of her sleeve. It was a flesh wound, the bullet had not gone through her arm but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. She stumbled a moment, gritted her teeth and continued forward. Alice turned her head to the side and her eyes found chaos. The trail was a vast ocean of dead bodies. Men with red coats and men with red skin lay over the trail like a morbid mosaic, their blood staining the earth.

Alice was so busy looking at the death around her that she didn't see the indian until he was almost upon her. He was coming at her with a wicked looking knife, swinging it in a wide arc at her face. With a cry she dodged backwards, feeling a slight stinging sensation on her forehead. She fell to the ground and her hand landed on the barrel of a musket. She looked up to see the red man bearing down on her. With all her might she swung the musket upward, the butt end of it catching him in the nose. He cried out as she scrambled to her feet, his hands going to his bloodied face. Alice swung the musket again, slamming it into the side of his head. He fell at her feet, and lay there unmoving. Alice looked at him, lying there with blood pooling around his head and wanted to retch. She looked up and away from him, her eyes looking at anything but what she had done.

Some distance away she saw her father, swinging at the Indians with his sword. Before her eyes, the horse was shot out from under him. It fell, trapping him beneath it's weight. Alice was frozen to the spot. She watched in silent horror as an Indian with half his face and chest painted black strode over to her father. She saw a knife flash in the sunlight, saw it arc downward. Her breath stopped in her throat when the indian lifted something bloody above his head, looking triumphant.

Alice's body felt numb. It unfroze enough for her to take a step back. She shook her head, denying everything that had just happened. She had not just killed a man, she had not just watched her father die. It was a dream, a horrible nightmare. Soon she would wake, find herself still sitting behind her sister on the horse. They would reach the fort, she would leave again with Uncas. None of what she was seeing would be true.

A rough hand suddenly gripped her face, feeling very real. It turned her face to the left, the fingers digging painfully into her cheeks. Brown eyes stared into hers, eyes framed by an equally brown face. But the eyes were not filled with warmth and love as Uncas were. These eyes were cold and promised death. The hand held no tenderness as he raised his tomahawk to strike her.

"No," Cora cried as she slammed into him from the side. He lost his grip on Alice's face, and swung the hand around to strike her sister. The closed fist caught Alice first on one cheek before it collided with the side of Cora's head. Alice fell backwards onto her behind, feeling dazed. Through the hazy vision, she saw the red man lift her sister up by the hair. Saw him bring his tomahawk to her head. She saw her sister about to die and then Nathaniel was there. He appeared, as if out of nowhere. He swung his tomahawk into the side of the mans head. Blood flew through the air and splattered across Alice's face. It was warm and sticky, she brought her hand up slowly to her face and her fingers came away smeared with blood. She looked at that blood in shock, her mind not comprehending how there could be so much. Her fingers went lazily to her upper forehead and came away with more blood. The man she had killed, had managed to cut her before he died.

There was a gentle hand at her elbow and she looked mutely up into the face of Uncas father. He pulled her quickly to her feet and spurred her forward into the smoke. Her sister and Nathaniel joined them, Cora's arm hanging limply at her side, blood running down it in little rivulets. They made their way through the writhing bodies, until Alice could hear the river. She noticed that they were now joined by two wounded British soldiers. Uncas helped one along, Nathaniel the other. They ran, and fired muskets, and ran again. Soon they same to the edge of the lake and Nathaniel noticed some canoes. He yelled something in Mohican to his father and they all changed course.

When they reached the canoes, everyone scrambled in quickly. Uncas settled himself down in front of her, sparing a glance over his shoulder. Alice looked ahead, eyes wide and scared. The boats pushed away from the shore and they raced through the smoke, away from the firing guns and war cries. Soon there was only the sound of paddles hitting water.

Alice stared straight ahead, seeing nothing. She only vaguely heard Duncan's voice somewhere to their left. She turned her head slightly to look. He was in another canoe, some distance to their right, with a musket pointing at Nathaniel. He was yelling something. Then he put the musket away and they were racing forward again. Nathaniel said something to his brother, and Uncas dove into the lake. Alice looked after him, startled, only to see him remerge near Duncan's canoe. He crawled into the boat with the other man and helped him row.

They rowed in silence, the only sound was the lapping of the water and their heavy breathing. The journey took them down a small waterfall, which soaked everyone through. Alice didn't notice the wetness, even when it flattened her hair to her head. She didn't feel the coldness of the lake seeping into her bodice. She didn't notice the water and blood running into her eyes, she also didn't notice when the canoe stopped moving. Alice sat in the canoe with her eyes on her hands, they lay palm up in her lap. she looked at the blood that was a little of hers and a little of the dead Indians. In her mind she saw the man with the painted face holding that bloody organ above his head.

There were fingers on her chin, lifting her face. She looked up, blankly into Uncas face. His lips were moving, he was talking to her. She blinked, uncomprehending. Something odd passed over his face and he touched the side of her head. It hurt, but she made no sound. His eyes returned to hers as he took her hands. With a gentle pull, he got her to step out of the canoe. The others waited ahead, some looking worried, others looking tired. Uncas led her by one hand to where they waited. She allowed him to lead her but felt nothing. Not fear, not regret, not even love. Her emotions were dead, they had been left behind on the battlefield with her father. She felt Uncas squeeze her hand and wondered if anything would ever feel real again.


	8. Beneath the Falls

Note: Well, I finally made it to the waterfall scene. I went up and down about how to approach this scene and finally settled on what you're about to read. I think I'm pretty happy with it. I wanted them to actually have a sexual encounter under the falls and I wanted it to fit in with the movie scene. So heres my little Valentines day treat to everyone. Read and enjoy.

Chapter 8

Beneath The Falls

The small band made their way under the towering cascade of water. Alice walked in front of Cora, Duncan and Nathaniel were at the back helping the wounded soldiers. Alice looked at the ground as she walked, memorizing the fabric of her shoes as they thudded on the wet stone. She felt hollow inside, as if everything she had ever felt had been ripped away from her. Someone helped her down an incline, she didn't see who. There was conversation around her, Duncan sounded angry. She paid it no attention, her eyes were now fixed on the curtain of water before her. Through it she could see the oncoming of night, there was a star-field in that water. A hand on her shoulder brought her around. She looked up into Uncas silent face.

"Are you all right," he asked, speaking loudly over the falls. If she had been able to, Alice might have laughed at the question. She didn't know if she would ever be all right again. She didn't answer, she turned back to look at the stars in the water. He turned her face back to his with the smooth palm of his hand.

"Alice, talk to me," He asked softly, the pleading in his voice almost bringing a spark of emotion to her stony surface. She might have answered him if Nathaniel hadn't called for him. He looked at his brother, then back at her, trying to decide who needed him more. In the end he gave her an apologetic look and headed up the fissure.

Alice stared at the water until she heard her sister talking, she was asking about their father. Something painful twisted in Alice's chest.

"Our Father," Cora yelled "Did you see our father?"

Nathaniel was quiet for a moment before Alice heard his reluctant response.

"From a distance."

Alice didn't stay to hear what Nathaniel said, she knew he was dead. She didn't want to know anymore about what that man had done to her father. She made her way up the fissure they had come in through, not knowing where she was going. As she went, images of the massacre flashed before her eyes. The bodies bleeding in the road, the whooping war cries of the indians. She shook her head, but they kept coming. The man with the knife, running at her. It was so real that she cried out, throwing up her arms to keep him away. She turned to run, trying to see her way through the smoke when hands grabbed her from behind.

"Get back," A voice hissed as she was drawn down against a stone wall. with a gasp, Alice's vision cleared. The battlefield was gone, there was only the waterfall. She realized where she was and clung to the figure that held her. Her hands clenched the broad shoulders like claws, while her breathing became hard and quick. With a slightly jerky movement, she looked at the man who held her. Uncas looked back at her worriedly and Alice felt her body begin to shake. It was a small tremble that started in her hands and worked it's way down her arms. She clenched and unclenched her hands on his shoulders as she felt the sob working it's way up her throat. There as too much happening at once and Alice knew she was about to break down.

"What happened out there," Uncas asked, touching the cut on her head. Alice found her voice but didn't recognize it when she spoke.

"I killed him," she mumbled, ducking her head as the tears came to burn her eyes.

"What," He asked trying to see her face.

"With a musket," She mumbled back, "I killed...I hit..."

The sobs came then, loud racking sobs that shook her body and made her chest hurt. She collapsed against him, clutching him to her as if her life depended on it. He had to shift his position to hold her comfortably. They ended up with her straddled in his lap, with his cheek resting against the top of her head. He let her cry, running his hands through her wet hair and rocking with her. Alice cried so hard that soon it became hard to breathe. Her chest shuddered with the need for air but she couldn't still her crying long enough to take a breath. Uncas took her face between his hands and made her look up at him when he felt her start to struggle to breathe.

"Alice, you have to calm down," He told her, "You have to breathe"

She heard him but she couldn't make her body cooperate. Her chest was burning, she felt a little lightheaded. What Uncas did next startled her but was nonetheless effective. He kissed her. It was soft but firm, a touching of lips that stilled the sobs in her chest. How funny that he could fight battles, save her countless times, but when it came to hysteria all he could do was kiss her. Alice went still in his arms, her heart beating hard against her chest. He pulled back and she sucked in a huge gulp of air, and another as her pulse slowed. As she got her breath back, he lay his forehead against hers and all the could be heard was their breathing in the darkness.

After a moment had passed, their eyes met in the dark and the two became very aware of the position they were in. Alice's legs were spread on either side of his and she was pressed very hard against the front of him. When they had started in the position it had been because Uncas needed a decent way to hold her in a small space. Now that she was clam, it seemed very intimate.

Their faces were very close in the darkness, Alice could almost see herself in the brown of his eyes.

" Uncas," She said his name oddly. Just speaking it, there was no question or reason for it. He said her name back in the same way, his voice a bit tight. There was something awkward happening between them that Alice couldn't explain. They had been intimate before this night, but yet it was still different.

Something twisted in her and before she knew what she was doing, her lips covered his. She wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss became passionate. He responded to her lips with equal fervor, drinking her in. She felt his hands slid down her back to her behind. With two hands he pulled her in tight against him and she gasped against his mouth.

Alice wanted him to drive the days images from her mind, she didn't want to remember seeing her father die. she didn't want to remember the man she had killed. She just wanted to be in his arms, feeling him move inside her. Of their own accord, her hands went between them and found the front of his loin cloth. She reached inside for that hard male part of him, and pulled it out. He let out a moaning sigh when she closed her fingers around him.

"Please," she pleaded into his ear when she felt him grind into her hand. She felt his hands move up under her skirts as he fought to remove the undergarments. she helped him slide them off and then his fingers slid between her legs. She moaned out his name when she felt him slide a finger into her, and then two. He maneuvered her hips up and over him and then slid inside. They both gasped at the sensation, then held onto each other as they began to move. Soon, all that could be heard was he sound of falling water and little whimpers in the night. There were whispered words uttered between kisses as they moved faster and faster in the dark.

"Say you love me," Alice pleaded between gasps.

"I love you," He responded breathlessly. He buried his face in her hair as she rode him, feeling a tightness growing between his legs.

"Say you'll stay with me," He asked her when he could speak. She tightened her hold on him.

"I will," She answered. Then her body tightened around him, they came with muffled screams. Each had their faces buried in the neck of the other.

When their hearts stopped racing there was a sense of calm in cavern. First their had been panic, then passion, now there was only silence. They held each other in that silence while Uncas twisted a strand of her hair in his fingers.

"Will we survive," Alice asked, breaking the silence. Her head was against his chest and she could hear his heart thumping in her ear.

"I don't know," He answered quietly.

Alice traced the tattoo that ran across his chest with her finger, running it back and forth like a nervous gesture. She wanted so badly to have a life with him but she wondered if they would live long enough to try it. In all the danger they had faced so far, she wondered how much more they could survive. She snuggled into his chest and tried not to think about it. Even if they died, even if it all ended, she had this moment. For now, that was enough.


	9. Magua and the Huron Lands

Note: looks like we made it to the second to last chapter folks. I have chapter 10 followed by an epilogue and then this story will be done. Thank you for the reviews of the last chapter and don't worry Cierra, I have it all planned out. I do have plans for a possible other Uncas/Alice fanfic after I finish this one for those of you who would like more. And now, onto the story...

Chapter 9

Magua and the Huron Land

She must have fallen asleep against him, because moments later it felt as though he were shaking her awake. She looked up at him, confused and he pressed his fingers to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. He looked off to the side and she followed his gaze. Alice saw nothing but whatever he saw had him pointing down the fissure and pulling her to her feet.

"Go back to the others," He whispered, "I'll follow in a moment"

With a small push he sent her back down to join the others. She went silently, feeling that familiar wash of fear come back over her. No one noticed her as she came silently down the fissure. Cora was dozing lightly in Nathaniel's arms and Duncan was trying to tend to the wounded soldiers. True to his word, Uncas did come back down the fissure. He and his father shared a look as Nathaniel got to his feet. Chingachgook turned and began to speak to his white son in Mohican, Uncas looked between them but didn't comment. Alice didn't understand any of what was being said, but her sister seemed to.

"Yes, go ahead," She said, interrupting them. Nathaniel looked at her with his heart in his eyes.

"I want you to go."

Duncan jumped angrily to his feet, though he didn't quite understand what was happening, he still didn't like it.

"What the bloody hell plan is this?" He demanded.

Uncas came over to Alice while Cora spoke quietly with Nathaniel. She looked up at him with wide eyes, she knew that he was leaving. Even if Cora hadn't said it out loud, she would still have known.

"We have no gun powder, if we leave now there's a chance we can track them back to you," Uncas explained.

"The Huron's are coming, if they find us here they will kill us."

Alice looked up into the face she had come to love so much and swallowed back a sob. She would not see him dead, not when she could save him by letting him go.

"They may take you to Huron land, do what they say. Don't give them any reason to hurt you."

What he really meant was, don't give them any reason to kill you. If the dog soldiers were a vicious lot, they might hurt her regardless but he didn't want to think about that. Alice ducked her head to keep from crying, she had to be strong. She had to be strong for him, if not for herself. Uncas fingers closed over hers and she looked up into his eyes.

"We will find you," He promised then shook his head, "I will find you."

Alice took his face in her hands and kissed him, one more moment to last until she saw him again. When it was over he turned from her and grabbed his things. His father went through the waterfall first, Uncas was right behind him. When they were gone, only Nathaniel was left. The american spared one more glance at her sister before he too was gone. Alice wandered to Cora's side and hugged the older girl fiercely, feeling her heart breaking.

"We will see our men again, Cora," Alice whispered. "I know it."

Cora nodded mutely and hugged her sister back as firelight began to filter down from the top of the fissure. The wounded soldiers hobbled in front of the sisters with their muskets raised, Duncan moved in front of the soldiers. Alice watched as a group of Indians with their faces painted black made their way down the stone embankment. She and Cora huddled together like to frightened children. The Indians approached swiftly, knocking Duncan to one side. One kicked him in the head and he lay still. Two others grabbed the Soldiers and threw them to the ground. Tomahawks flashed in the firelight, there was a pained grunt, then the soldiers moved no more. The small band parted as another Indian came forward and Alice had to fight not to scream. Half of his face and half of his chest was painted black. She knew this Indian, even if she lived to be a senile old woman she would know him. It was the man that had killed her father.

He came forward with an arrogant stride, his eyes piercing. He stopped before them and reached out for a strand of her sisters hair, turning it in his fingers. Alice shut her eyes to keep from being sick.

"If he touches me, I will scream," She thought wildly.

The red man did not touch her. Instead he spoke in a foreign language to the soldiers around him. Alice opened her eyes as they came forward with rope. Silently, they bound her and her sisters hands and pulled them up and out of the waterfall. Alice went quietly, head down and eyes averted.

"Don't give them any reason to hurt you," She repeated to herself.

Once back in the forest, Magua took their shoes. She learned his name only from listening when the other men spoke to him. He had taken their shoes, Alice assumed, to trade later. When Cora had fought them they had hit her, once, twice, then three times. She gave up the shoes only when Alice did. The dog soldiers marched them all forward on bare feet, as they would travel for the next few days. It proved to be a very unpleasant next few days.

Magua marched Alice and Cora to exhaustion the first day, stopping only when it became too dark to see. For food, he threw them scraps and fed them no better than a pair of dogs. The next day was worse, She had Cora walked their feet bloody stepping on sharp twigs and rocks. At one point, Alice's feet hurt so badly that she collapsed to her knees. The dog soldier in charge of her pulled sharply on the rope that bound her hands. When she didn't rise he yanked hard on the rope and sent her sprawling on her stomach in the dirt.

"Stop it," She heard Cora yell. There was a sharp pain along her shoulder and she struggled to her knees. Another stinging slap hit the middle of her back and she glanced over her shoulder to see the Indian whipping at her with a length of rope. She pushed unsteadily to her feet as she felt something warm and wet slide down her back. The dog soldier had drawn blood. She was pulled roughly forward and stumbled to keep upright on her damaged feet.

By nightfall, both girls feet were a raw, bloody mess. There were cuts both deep and shallow running all over the soles. The cuts were now packed with mud and dirt, putting both girls at high risk for infection. They lay huddled together near a tree, their feet tied together so they wouldn't run. As if they could anyway, both could barely walk.

"Alice," Cora whispered in the dark, "Are you awake?"

"Yes," she whispered back, clasping her sister's fingers with her own. They were facing one another but it was so dark they could hardly see.

"Remember when we were children, and we said we would marry on the same day so as to never be apart?"

Alice smiled at the memory, they were only six and nine at the time.

"Yes."

"Promise me it will still happen, that we will make it through this alive."

Alice squeezed her sister's fingers against her chest.

"We will have to, we are marrying brothers." She responded, even in the darkness she saw Cora smile. The smiled faded a moment as she scooted closer to her sister.

"Oh Alice, are you sure this frontier life is what you want?" Cora asked, almost sadly. Alice sighed a little in the dark.

"I know only that I want Uncas, Cora," she responded quietly.

"He cannot fit into my world so I will have to try and find a place in his."

Cora was silent for a long moment, Alice thought she might have gone to sleep.

"I hope you're happy in the end, my sister. I truly do."

The third day was unbearable for Alice. Magua marched them at first light up and down hills and over worn deer paths. By midday, Alice felt her legs stiffening. They were not moving nearly as easily as they once had. Her feet burned as if a branding iron was being pushed against them. The pain was making her head spin, her legs were so tired from the constant walking. She took a few faltering steps forward then fell to her knees. The dog soldier pulled again on her bound hands, trying to haul her upward. Alice looked at him for a moment then fell forward into the grass. She was semi-conscious, enough to hear a little of what was going on around her.

"Alice," She heard her sister cry out.

"Miss Alice," It was Duncan's voice.

There was the familiar sting of the rope hitting her shoulders, she couldn't make her body move enough to get up again. The rope was biting into her back, it hurt, but she couldn't move.

"Stop it," She felt her sisters body fall next to hers, she was shielding Alice from the Indians rope.

"Can't you see she can't walk?" Cora was yelling at them. Through her foggy senses, Alice could hear the one called Magua talking. He gave a sharp order, her sisters weight was gone. Alice felt herself be lifted into unfamiliar arms. They carried her effectively, but not comfortably. There was no tenderness in this man's arms for he did not love her. She sank into darkness with that unpleasant thought.

Alice was jostled awake roughly, she opened her eyes to find them at the entrance to a village. The solider that was carrying her, practically dumped her onto her feet. Her legs crumbled immediately. With a look of annoyance he hauled her back up and kept her standing with one arm around her waist. Alice leaned heavily into him, her legs almost dragging on the ground.

They were taken through what appeared to be an Indian village, maybe these were the Huron lands Uncas spoke of. He half dragged, half carried her through the village. She tried to get her feet to move but every movement burned. Her head slumped forward a little and she got a good look at her feet. Her toes were caked with dried blood, not one seeming to be free from it. Alice's eyes burned with the need to shut them, she didn't know how much more of this wretched journey she could take.

Magua stopped them in an open area, where a large number of people gathered. Alice lifted her head with effort to see an old man being led to the central area. The women helping him made him comfortable on a pile of furs. Once he was situated, Magua began to speak. Alice didn't understand any of what was said so she let her head slump forward again. The dog soldier shook her roughly when she started to go limp on him and it made her come around a little. Within a few moments she was slumping again.

What really brought her around was the sudden whooping and hollering. She might not have opened her eyes to check if it hadn't been for Cora.

"Nathaniel," She called, her voice desperate. Alice's head shot up, If Nathaniel was here, then Uncas might be too. She looked around but saw no one else, just Nathaniel. She knew there was more conversation ensuing, some in french and some in Huron but she heard very little. She must have passed in and out of consciousness because she only heard the tail end of what Duncan was translating.

"The youngest Munro girl will go with Magua so that the gray hairs seed will not die and Magua's heart is healed. The dark-haired child will burn in our fires for Magua's dead children."

Alice's head shot up. Cora, they were going to kill her sister. The movement made her head hurt, her vision swam again. Duncan was yelling, so was Nathaniel. Pain shot up Alice's legs as the dog Soldier scooped her back into his arms. She tried to see what was happening but her vision went black as they bore her away.

Chingachgook and Uncas watched the village from near the cliffs. Looking for any signs of either the girls or Nathaniel. So far there was no sign of either and that was not good. Uncas was more worried than he let on, it had been days and anything could happen in that short span of time. Off to the left he saw Magua's men began to move again. One of them was carrying something that looked heavier than trading goods. He looked closer and caught sight of long skirts and a flash of blonde hair. What he carried was Alice Munro. If she was in no fit state to walk it meant one of two things, the first being that they hurt her. The second was that she was injured along the way. He was betting it was probably the first option.

Without realizing it, his hand came down on his fathers shoulder. Chingachgook looked up at his boy intently. There were no words exchanged but the look spoke volumes.

"I have to go," Uncas seemed to say with his eyes.

"Why," His fathers asked back.

"Because I love her," Was what he said back. Then Uncas scaled the hill and was gone.


	10. Everything Above and Below

Note: Wow, here it is...the last Chapter. Now, I do have an epilogue so don't worry. There's still a little more story left to tell. This chapter came out just exactly the way I wanted it to, the way I had it planned from the beginning. I'm curious to see how people feel about the end, so please let me know. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others and I will work on having that epilogue up soon. .

Chapter 10

Everything Above and Below

Alice didn't know how long she was unconscious but it felt like only moments had passed until she was being jostled again. The dog soldier shook her roughly, until her eyes opened and she looked up at him. He placed her on her feet and she cried out in pain. His arm slid around her waist and kept her from falling. She looked forward and saw that they were heading up a stony embankment. Her eyes traveled farther and she realized they were at the base of a cliff. The dog soldier began walking forward, practically dragging her damaged feet on the stones. She forced her feet to move a little, trying to walk along with him. It felt like they climbed forever, up and up into the blue sky. Alice felt cold and dead inside, it felt as though she had lost everything. Her sister, at that moment, was probably being killed and she was to be wife to the monster that killed her father. Her eyes rose to his look at the back of his head where he walked a few feet in front of her. He would have to kill her before she would let him touch her. Let him try to take her, she could guarantee he would come away with one less limb. If she had her way it would be the important one.

She looked out over the cliffs as they meandered their way over the slick rocks. The world looked so big and bright from those rocks. It stretched on for miles, an ocean of green against the cornflower sky.

A noise up ahead caught her attention. There was a cracking sound, like branches breaking, then a gunshots. Screams rang out somewhere ahead. Magua's head shot up and he drew a tomahawk from his belt. More pained cried were heard and Alice strained to see what was going on. A flash of black hair, a green shirt. Her eyes widened and she gasped.

Uncas was fighting his way through the dog soldiers, taking them down left and right as if they were nothing. For a moment she thought she was dreaming, that she was still unconscious.

"Uncas," She said quietly, not quite believing it could be him. He was almost to Magua, who had pulled another knife from his belt.

"Uncas," She yelled, reaching out a hand as if he could grab it. The dog solider held her firm as she fought him. She moved like a wildcat, trying to get out of his grasp.

Uncas brought his tomahawk down toward Magua, who blocked it with his own. Using the knife he cut deeply into Uncas side, then he spun around and caught the other side. He hopped backwards with his knives raised, waiting for Uncas to come at him.

The Mohican looked down at the blood that was running from the wounds, startled. Then slowly his head came up. From across the rocks, his eyes met with Alice's. She stopped fighting the dog soldier, she stared into those endless brown eyes. Without a word, he said goodbye. In his eyes there was a knowledge that he might not be able to win this fight. His eyes told her that only one of them might be leaving the cliffs alive and if he had his way, it would be her.

Alice watched in horror as he rushed Magua, pushing him farther back on the rock ledge. They collided in a flash of blades and fell to the stone floor. Alice slid out of the soldiers arms like butter, he let her go. She fell to her knees as Magua stabbed at the man she loved, cutting into his flesh like an animal. Her hands came down to grip her skirts, her nails digging into the fabric as Uncas screamed. Her fingers closed around something long and smooth in the pocket. She snaked a hand into that front pocket and felt the object. It was smooth and cold to the touch, a knitting needle. In everything that had happened over the last few days she had forgotten about the scarf. The one she had been making for Cora, the one she would never wear. She had shoved the needle into the pocket when they were leaving camp, and here it was, still in her pocket.

Something in Alice seemed to change then. some clarity and light came into her eyes. She pushed the object up into her sleeve to hide it as she got to her feet. If she felt pain, she didn't show it. If she felt fear, it was buried. She stood on her damaged feet and took a step forward. The dog soldier's hand shot out to grab her arm, she didn't fight him. Instead she looked into his face with those haunted blue eyes. Something in her face gave him pause. Something shining in her clear blue eyes affected him. There was no threat in her face, no promise of danger, she only stared at him. His hand fell away from her arm, he looked afraid of her. Alice turned away from him, her eyes were for Magua.

He was standing over Uncas, who was trying to struggle into a sitting position. The Mohican's arm hung limply at his side, useless and bloody. Alice walked silently across the stones, her damaged feet leaving smears of blood here and there. No one stopped her, after all what could she do? This small blonde girl with the hurt feet, what threat was she?

Alice walked up behind Magua and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned with his knife raised, ready to strike, then he saw her face. Like the dog soldier he paused, transfixed. Her eyes were like two deep pools of water as she laid her palm against his cheek. He looked at the hand, then back at her, confused. Everything was silent, no one spoke or moved. With a motion as calm and quiet as her eyes, Alice leaned forward. She pressed her lips gently against Maguas, her hand lingering lightly on his cheek. He did not kiss her back but he didn't pull away either. His knife arm lowered while her other arm came up.

Maybe he thought she was going to embrace him or that she was going to touch him in some small way. There were any number of things Magua could have imagined at that moment. He never saw the knitting needle slide into her palm, never saw it coming toward him. It wasn't until the sharpness of the tip bit into his throat that he realized what she was doing. By then it was too late, the knitting needle was thrust through his throat. It slammed through soft tissue and arteries, it destroyed his voice box.

Alice pulled back from him and he looked at her in astonishment. She was blocking the dog soldier view of him. None of them saw the blood rushing down his front, the blood that was staining her dress. None of them saw his mouth working to speak.

Magua took a step back from her, his hands going to the front of his throat where the needle protruded. His feet were dangerously close to the precipice, one more step would take him over. He backed away from the look in Alice's eyes, away from her. He fled from the calmness of one who no longer had anything to loose. Then he fell away into the blue, tumbling away from her and everything above.

Alice stood facing where he had been and felt nothing. There was no regret in her this time. She had killed him and she had felt nothing. She had felt his blood flow over her hands and felt nothing. She had made a choice between him and Uncas. A choice as to who would live and who would die. She had chosen Uncas, it was as simple as that.

Whatever willpower had leant strength to he legs ebbed away. She sank slowly to her knees on the rocks, her eyes still fixed on where Magua had fallen. Uncas edged his way toward her, pulling himself with his good arm. When he reached her his face was filled with pain, not all of it physical.

"Why Alice," He asked, grabbing at her arm with his good one. "Why?"

She turned those clear blue eyes on him, seeing him and yet not seeing him.

"I can't live in a world were you're gone," She replied quietly. Then her eyes saw him, really saw him and everything seemed so clear.

"It was him or us," She said more to herself than to him. "I chose us"

"Alice," He tried to say something but collapsed with a pained grunt. She scooted forward and pulled his head into her lap.

The dog soldiers had stood as if paralyzed through the whole thing, but now Alice's hypnotic hold seemed to be breaking. A few drew knives and Tomahawks and advanced on the two huddled figures. Alice saw this and pulled Uncas Knife from his belt.

"No," She ordered, holding it out before her. Her arm was steady, as if she knew just how to use the knife. In reality, Alice had never touched any such weapon but if they rushed her she would learn quickly. Her eyes dared them to try.

A few looked wary, having seen what she did to Magua. Others looked amused that this tiny blonde thing thought she could take them on. One gave a bark of derisive laughter. They started forward again.

Then the world exploded in a series of gunfire. The dog soldiers fell here and there, forgetting Alice and Uncas as they turned on new attackers. Suddenly Nathaniel and Chingachgook were there, fighting off the Indians. Cora was struggling her way up the rock path behind them. Her sister was alive, having escaped the promise of death in Huron fire.

When it was over Alice was still sitting there with the knife held out before her, her eye fixed ahead. It was only when Nathaniel pushed down on the arm that she dropped it. It clattered onto the stone ledge. She looked down into Uncas brown eyes where they blinked up at her and began to cry. She hugged his head in her lap and sobbed. For the first time in days, they were safe. Now there was only the sky above and the earth below, and everything in between.


	11. Epilogue

Note: Here the last and final part to my story, the promised Epilogue. Now the story is really and truly finished. Thank you so much, everyone who read this story and stayed with it while I was writing it. I enjoyed writing it because you all enjoyed reading it so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all the wonderful reviews and for being patient with me as I updated.

extra special thank you to BlueRose for encouraging me to keep going and reinforcing the idea in my mind that I can, in fact, write.

Heres the epilogue, enjoy! .

Epilogue

After the events on the cliff, no one was really in a fit state to travel. Chingachgook found a small cave a little ways down the path and the travelers made their way there to rest. It was days before the girls recovered enough to travel, having suffered infections in their feet. Uncas arm was going to be useless for a while, his father feared he might not use it again. Cora told Alice the said news of Duncan And she mourned for him. Despite many things, Duncan had been a good friend. Alice hoped he could find peace, knowing he had saved Cora's life.

When they had recovered sufficiently, they made their way down the other side of the cliff to another Indian village. The people there were kind to them, giving them food and place to further recover their strength The men traded furs to get shoes for the girls, and medicine for Uncas arm. When all was said and done, they headed out for Can-tuck-kee.

The trip there was uneventful, no more encounters with war parties. When they reached Can-tuck-kee, everyone breathed a little easier. Nathaniel and Cora found land in a deep stretch of forest and decided to make their home there. Chingachook and Uncas helped him build the homestead, Uncas arm had made a full recovery by then. When the home was built, all that was left was for them to marry. Cora and Nathaniel found a priest in town that was more than up to the job, though he refused to marry Uncas and Alice. He would have no part in joining a "heathen" with a white woman. Nathaniel would have left on the spot but Uncas smiled and told him to go ahead, he and Alice would sit in the church and watch. That much, at least, the priest would allow.

What the priest didn't know was that they said the vows quietly to each other when the priest spoke them. When he called for rings, they slipped them on each others fingers. When he called for the kiss, they shared one too. After the small ceremony, Alice and Uncas showed their siblings their rings and everyone laughed. Whether or not he'd wanted to, the priest had married both couples.

Life from there was quiet, save for one event. A month after both couples had married, it was discovered that Alice was pregnant. A few months after that she gave birth to a daughter. They named her Anakusak. The name meant, literally, "Stars." They were quiet sure that she was conceived that night in the cave, with the star-field shining in the water. For short, they called her Ana.

By the time Ana was three, Chingachgook told his sons he missed home. Uncas and Alice discussed it and decided that since the war was over, it was safe to take him back to the Carolinas. So, with a promise to come back and visit during the winter months, they set off for home.

On a whim they headed for the Cameron's old cabin, just to see if anyone had come to claim the land. Surprisingly, it was much as they had left it. Though some kind souls had come through and given the family a proper burial. With a look between three faces, a decision was made and the two men went about rebuilding the house.

In the end, they made their home in the Cameron's old cabin. Uncas and Chingachgook thought they would be pleased to have someone they trusted living on the land.

Another three years passed. Alice stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner in the large fire place. Her daughter sat on the floor, playing with a doll her grandfather had made for her. Alice herself was maneuvering her large stomach around the cooking pot. The baby inside stirred, reminding her that in a few days they might have a son. When the baby was old enough to travel, they would lock up the house and head back to Can-tuck-kee to visit Nathaniel, Cora, and their children. They had done it every year as promised, and this one would be no different.

The dogs outside began to bark, it was a happy sound, the one they used only for the men. Ana ran to the door, pulling it open.

"Grandfather and Poppy are home," She yelled and ran out the door. Alice followed slowly, smiling. She stopped at the door as Ana ran out to the two men. Uncas scooped her into his arms, laughing as she tried to tell him everything she had done that day. When he saw his wife waiting for him, he passed Ana off to his father and came to her.

As she watched him she thought of when she was a child, and she lay with her head in her mothers lap. Her mother had stroked her hair and predicted what her daughters life would be like.

"Someday, Alice, you will meet a wonderful man," She had said.

"And he will love you more than life itself. Then life... life will be more beautiful than you can ever imagine."

As Uncas approached and looked at her with his deep brown eyes she knew her mother had been right. She kissed him and he laid a hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick. Life was beautiful. It was, it really was.

The End


End file.
